INDIA LIGHTS UP THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
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INDIA LIGHTS UP THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
India has become the fourth country to successfully land on the moon as Chandrayaan-3's lander module, with its rover, successfully made a soft landing on the lunar surface.
India is also the first country to touch down on the South Pole region of the moon.
The ISRO said a communication link was established between the lander and MOX-ISTRAC (Mission Operations Complex at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network), Bengaluru.
The powered descent by the lander Vikram is divided into four phases– rough breaking phase, attitude hold phase, fine breaking phase, and terminal descent phase.
The data from Chandrayaan-3's scientific instruments will be crucial because the mission will be the first to physically, chemically and thermally characterize the soil, subsoil and air near the moon's South Pole on location.
With it, India has also demonstrated familiarity with the major types of interplanetary spacecraft: orbiter, landers, and rovers.
The landing also brings to a close the second phase of India's lunar exploration programme. The third phase will begin with collaboration between ISRO and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) for the Lunar Polar Exploration (LUPEX) mission, which also involves a lander and a rover they will study water-ice at the lunar South Pole.